Mount Baldy dune moves an average of 4-feet annually and ultimately will overtake the parking lot and facilities at Indiana Dunes National Park
Image details
Contributor:
D Guest Smith / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
P6B1MNFile size:
68.7 MB (4.7 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
6000 x 4000 px | 50.8 x 33.9 cm | 20 x 13.3 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
28 June 2018Location:
Mount Baldy, Michigan City, IN, USAMore information:
Mount Baldy is 126 feet above Lake Michigan and part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The dune is moving approximately four feet inland every year and slowly swallowing everything in it's path and will eventually overrun the parking lot and facilities. Climbing the dune has been closed to visitors since a near fatal accident in 2013 when the dune unexpectedly swallowed a child in a deep sink hole. Additional sink holes have since been detected at Mount Baldy and climbing the dune is now only available through an official Park Ranger guided tour. The exact cause of the sinkholes is uncertain but believed to be related to the remains of decaying oak trees that the dune swallowed and killed in the past. As the trees decompose it is believed they leave behind a chimney that can open up and close again under the shifting sands.